MARIETTA, OHIO —Dual enrollment opportunities are expanding for Washington State College of Ohio (WSCO) partner Nelsonville-York High School. Thanks to a state grant designed to off-set the expense associated with credentialing, seven teachers will be able to complete the coursework necessary to teach college-level classes.
The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) together with the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) awarded Nelsonville-York $154,410 to expand the number of its instructors credentialed to teach dual enrollment courses. Dual enrollment is part of Ohio’s College Credit Plus (CCP) program that allows high school students to take college courses on their high school campus—earning college credit while simultaneously earning high school credit for the same class.
The high school began its dual enrollment partnership with Washington State in 2018 and initially only offered three courses. As its student interest increased, however, so has the need to expand the program. In fact, in their first year, the high school had 13 participants. That number exploded to 53 last fall. The school will use the grant to help defray the cost of the required education necessary for the credentialing of seven instructors.
The dual enrollment program at WSCO has recently experienced significant growth. In fact, last year the college doubled its dual enrollment partners and is currently working with 20 schools throughout Southeast Ohio.
“The growth of our dual enrollment partnerships offers the opportunity for students to have more choices of course offerings in order to be able to stay at their high school,” said WSCO’s College Credit Plus Coordinator Debbie Gurtis. “This is especially valuable for students who simply don’t have the means of transportation to drive to our campus.”
The grant awarded to Nelsonville-York is part of the $3 million earmarked to expand early college credentialing across the state over the next two years. Through a competitive grant application, the funds have been allocated to seven entities and are projected to serve nearly 300 teachers through 19 colleges and universities and more than 100 secondary schools.
